Utility work being done before U.S. 11 repaving in Chambersburg

Traffic will be rerouted for the next several months around a series of downtown public works projects in advance of a major street repaving planned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for U.S. 11 in Chambersburg.

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Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

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Posted May. 21, 2013 at 11:30 AM

Posted May. 21, 2013 at 11:30 AM

CHAMBERSBURG — Traffic will be rerouted for the next several months around a series of downtown public works projects in advance of a major street repaving planned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for U.S. 11 in Chambersburg.

What’s done and why

The borough was informed late last year that much of U.S. 11, including Second and Main streets from Penn Hall Drive in the north to Industrial Drive in the south, will be resurfaced by a state contractor sometime in the near future, perhaps 2014.

Borough-owned utilities such as gas, water and sewer will be upgraded before the new street surface is laid down. That utility work may take a year and is often conducted well before paving takes place.

“We get calls from folks all the time,” said Borough Manager Jeffrey Stonehill, “wanting to know why we are cutting up certain streets so much, leaving them all rough patched. Usually, this is because we are preparing for a local resurfacing project on a borough street or a state resurfacing job on state-owned streets, sometimes a year in advance.”

“Last year,” explained David Finch, assistant borough manager/public works director, “we were getting calls about Wayne Avenue, where we had many excavations because PennDOT was scheduled to come in and do the Wayne Avenue Bridge Project and then resurface Route 316. We try to get in there and do our utility work before they come to do a street.”

The project at the intersection of Lincoln Way East and Coldbrook Avenue, which is a borough project paid for with PennDOT and PA DEP Growing Greener Grant funds, in cooperation with the Chambersburg Hospital, should be done by summertime.

Curbs and sidewalks

The borough will also be issuing curb and sidewalk repair notices for property owners along U.S. 11.

“When a street is repaved,” explained Phil Wolgemuth, land use and development director, “town council policy is that all curbs and sidewalks on that street need to be built or repaired. So, we send everyone a notice when PennDOT tells us they will be doing a repaving project either next year or the year after. We try to give folks time to schedule and plan those repairs in advance.”

As construction season progresses, extensive utility upgrades and road improvement projects will be taking place throughout Chambersburg.